Asian Operators Look to Avinode To Boost Charter Bookings

Korean Air is one of several executive charter operators that have recently started using Avinode’s online charter booking portal.

Avinode (ABACE Booth H525) believes its online charter portal can make it easier for operators and customers to maximize usage of available capacity in Asia. More and more Asian operators are joining the Avinode network, with the most recent additions being Korean Air, Hong Kong Jet, Asia Jet, Deer Jet and First Mandarin.

“From our experience in other markets, we know that charter supply and demand lag behind the delivery of business jets by about two to three years, as owner usage changes and domestic demand grows,” said Avinode Marketplace managing director Oliver King.

But another feature of new markets is so-called “grey” charter, meaning aircraft offered for hire by operators that are not legally approved for these services. This can happen because of a lack of knowledge on the part of both owners and buyers. “Avinode’s marketplace technology helps to create an infrastructure for a legitimate business-to-business market, and as we have seen in Russian and the Middle East, for example, this helps to speed up the growth process,” claimed Avinode sales manager Ian Croxton. “The Asian market is currently at a juncture where private owners are realizing that they can generate revenue from their aircraft instead of letting them sit idle.”

“Avinode works on two levels: it exposes Asia Jet and other operators’ fleets to the industry and allows us to source [aircraft] for our Asian clients when they require regional lift in the rest of the world for trips,” said Asia JetCEO Mike Walsh.

Worldwide, the Avinode Marketplace currently lists around 3,000 aircraft that are available for charter and it has some 4,000 users who use the system to find charter flights (around 1,500 charter companies). It includes online quoting, availability report and empty leg positions.

Audited Operators

Meanwhile, Avinode subsidiary Wyvern Consulting, has extended its Wyvern Wingman on-site audit program into the Asian market. Each audit takes two or three days and operators are expected to adhere to post-audit reporting requirements, while operator, aircraft and crew background checks are carried out 24/7 using the Wyvern database.

“This ensures that the Wyvern audit is valid through the term of recommendation and that it is more than just a snapshot of what the audit team saw while they were on site with the charter operator,” said the company. Wyvern’s pilot and aircraft safety survey (Pass) report can be run prior to a flight, using real-time data feeds, to check that, for example, insurance, medical and flight time requirements are all complied with.